John a



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN A. BLAKE, OF WATERTOWN, NEW YORK.v

AVISE.

SPECIFICATIoN forming 'part of Letters Patent No. 258,980, dated June e, 1882. Application filed April 3, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN A.-BLAKE, of the city of Watertown, county of Jefferson, and VState of New York, have inventeda new and useful Improvement in Vis'es, whichimprovement is fully set forth in the following specification.

' This invention relates to vises or instruments for clamping and holding firmly an article to `be operated upon, and which consist mainly of two clamping-jaws and means for moving one of them toward and away from the other. As commonly constructed the adjustment of the movable jaw is effected solely by the operation of a screw, by which also the esired pressure is broughtupon the article held between 'the jaws; but in order to change the position of the jaw to suit articles of different sizes a great many turns of the screw are often necessary, whereby much time is lost. Many devices have, however, been heretofore made for effecting a rapid adjustment of the movable jaw, whereby the latter can be moved back and forth independent of the screw, which need be resorted to only to produce the desired 'pressure on the article held between the clamping-jaws. To thisclass of vises the present invention more particularly relates. It also relates in part to vises which are swiveled or pivoted to a bed-plate secured to the workmans bench or table, so as to 'be capable of turning thereon, and are provided with means for clamping the vise on its bed-plate or support when in use. In such vises as generally constructed the means for connecting the vise to its support are of such a nature thatV the clamping of thevise so as to hold it stationary when in use and the releasing it when it is' desired to turn it to some other position cannot be effected without inconvenience and loss of time.

In the present invention the movable jaw is carried by a slide adapted to move freely back and forth in 'an opening made longitudinally through the main body of the vise under the fixed jaw. The slide is hollowed out from below and contains a ratchet-toothed or rack bar adapted normally to engage with a series of teeth or projections xed on the bottom of theopening in which the slide moves. The end 'of the rack-bar ortoothed haris screw-threaded j and enters a threaded nut held in the end of the hollow slide and capable of turning byA the usual cross-bar or handle passing through the head ot' the nut. tween the rack-bar and top of the slide keeps the former in engagement with the teeth or projections below it, so that by turning the nut by means of its handle the nut, by reason A spring interposed beof its engagement'with the threaded end of 6.o

the rack-bar, is moved back or forward, and carrieswith it the slide and movable jaw. The movement, however, that can thus be imparted to the jaw is slow, and is moreover limited by the length of the threaded nut, sothat when the jaw is to be moved a greater distance than can be effected by the screw, or when it is desiredto make the adjustment rapidly, it is only necessary to press downward on the head of the nut, which lifts the rack-bar out of engagement with the teeth below it, leaving the slide free to be moved the desired distance.

The bottom plate of the vise, which is circular in form, rests upon a hollow annular casting adapted to be secured to the workmans benchl or table, and on said bottom plate is which fits in said hollow casting and holds the -vise in place, while permitting it to be turned thereon. Bymeansofaclampingspider-plate, a threaded bolt, nut, and handle, or wrench for turning the same, the vise may be clamped firmly upon its support during use by turning the handle in a proper direction, and by turning it in the opposite direction the clampingplate is loosened and the vise is free to turn upon its support.'

The accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, represent a vise constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section; Fig. 2, a vertical cross-section on line 2 2 ot' Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a view, partly in elevation and partly in section, of the slide and rack-bar; and Figs. 4 and 5, perspective views of the bottom of the vise and of the base or support, respectively.

A is the iixed and B the movable jaw. The latter is carried by the slide C, which is supportedand moves in an opening formed under the jaw A. The slide() is hollowed out from below, so as to contain the toothed bar or rackbar D, which is normally kept in engagement with the teeth or projections E, formed in the bottom of the opening in which the, slide moves, by the leafspiing d. The outer end ofraek-bar D is screw-threaded, and engages with aninternal thread formed in nut F, through the outer end or head of which passes the ordinary crossbar or handle, G. The nut F is heldin one end of slide C, so as to be capable of turning freely. It is held in its bearing by the shoulderf bearing against the outer end of the slide, and by the spring f2, surroundin g the nut and held between the end of the slide and the collarf on the nut F. lVhen the parts are in the position shown in Fig. l the turning ot' the nut F by means of its handle G will cause the Inova-ble jaw B to lapproach or recede from the fixed jaw A through the engagement of the nut with the threaded end of rack-bar D, the latter being firmly held by the teeth or projections E. The bar D has a slight vertical playin the slide U, so that when it is desired to draw out the slide without resorting to the operation ofthe screw it is only necessary to press downward on the head of nut F, which will lift the inner end of the nut, and with it raise the bar D clear ot' the teeth E, as shown in Fig. 3, and permit the slide to be drawn out. The lifting of bar D can best be effected by grasping the handle G in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3 and pressing h'rmly upon it in the direction of the arrow, Fig. l. This causes the nut F to turn on the point f as a center and raises the rackbar D against the pressure of spring d into the position shown in Fig. 3. Vithout removing the pressure upon the handle Gr the slide rackbar and movablejaw can be drawn out the required distance. Handle G being released, the bar D is returned to its former position by the spring d and drops into engagement with the tooth or teeth opposite it.

Thejaw B can be moved in the opposite direction-that is, toward jaw A-by simply pushing in the slide C, the incline of the teeth andthe yielding of spring d permitting the bar 1) to ride over the teeth or projections E.

As an additional support to the slide O, a forwardly-projecting lip, a, is formed on the body of the vise.

rlhe spiral springf2 bears at one end on the collar f on nut F and at the other against the end of the slide. This serves to steady the nut i11 its bearing and keep it from vibrating, while at the same time permitting the small movement necessary to lift the rackbar D.

The pin c in the end of slide C, by its contact with teeth E, prevents the slide being drawn out too far. Then for any purpose it is desired to withdraw the slide altogether the pin c is removed.

rEhe bottom plate, H, ofthe vise is circular in form, and is provided at a short distance from its edge with an annular projection, h', which fits into the hollow circular casting K, which forms the bed-plate or support for the vise and is adapted to be screwed to the workmans bench or table. rlhe flat portion h ot' the bottom plate, H, rests upon the top ot support K and turns thereon. The support K is formed with an inwardly-projecting annular rim or collar, it, against which rests the spiderplate L, held in place by screw-bolts l l'. rllhe boltl screws into the bottom plate of the vise, but not tight enough to clamp the spider-plate L against the collar 7c of piece K, and therefore does not interfere with the turning of the vise. The bolt l passes through spiderplate L and bottoni plate, H, and a threaded nut, m, enga-ges wit-h it, and when screwed tight clamps the rim or collar 7c ot' support K firmly between the plates L and H, thus holding the vise immovable upon its support. By loosening the nut m suflicieut to release the pressure of the spider-plate L the vise is released,and can be freely turned upon the snpport K, the spider-plate turning with it. For convenience in operating nutm, a. handle or wrench, m', is provided, ttin g over the nut m, which has angular faces. The handle is left in place upon the nut, as shown, Fig. 2, and forms a permanent part of the instrument. A slight turn of the handle to the right will loosen the nut m, so that the vise can be rcvolved. By this arrangement the clamping of the vise to its bed-plate or support for use and the releasing it therefrom to adjust it to a dit'- ferent position are very readily and quickly effected.

To prevent bolt l turning with the nutm, its shank is made square at Z2 and fits in a square hole in the spider-plate L. The head of bolt l is also cut away to form a shoulder, as shown in Fig. 2, which bears against the edge of support or bed-plate K.

It is obvious that modifications may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention, and also that parts of the invention can be used separately. For example, instead of a number of fixed teeth E, a single tooth or projection could be used, though for the sake of greater strength the construction shown is deemed preferable.

Having now fully described my said invention and the manner of carrying the same into effect, what I claim is l. The combination, with the movable jaw and its slide, of a toothed bar contained in said slide and screw-threaded at one end to engage with an internal thread in a lint held in the end of said slide, and a series ot' fixed teeth or projections for engaging said toothed bar, the latter having suiicient vertical play in said slide to enable it to be lifted out of engagement with said teeth or projections by pressing downward 011 the head of said nut, substantially as described.

2. In a vise, the combination of the movable jaw carried by a slide which works in an opening formed in the body of the vise below the fixed jaw, an internally-threaded nut and handle for turning the same, a toothed bar threaded at one end and engaging with said nut, one

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or more fixed teeth or projections for engaging said toothed bar, and a spring bearing upon said bar and tending to keep it in engagement with said teeth or projections, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the hollow slide, nut turning in the end of said slide and having a collar formed thereon, and a spiral spring encircling saidnut and bearing atone end against said collar and at the other against the end of said slide, substantially as and for the purpose Set forth.

4. The combination ot' the hollow support provided with an internal shoulder, the bottom plate of the vise tting in and turning on Said support, the spider-frame fitting in said support and against said shoulder, screws for attaching said frame tothe bottom plate, nut engaging one of said screws, and handle for turning said nut, said screw being eccentricto 2o the axis of Vthe vise and said handle and nut above the bottom plate, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence ot' two subscribing 2 5 witnesses.

JOHN A. BLAKE.

Witnesses:

GEORGE A. BAGLEY, EDMUND Q. SEWALL.

fait; 

